Speechless
by Lillystream
Summary: Maki Nishikino is known widely as the cool, closed off beauty from μ's. No one seems to be able to get her to open up. They thought they finally had something... until they are hit by a tragic accident; one they're not sure how they're going to recover from in the aftermath. ((NicoMaki main focus))
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Maki-chan!" Rin called to her friend, "Let's all go home together!"

"E-eh?"

The day had passed like any other. Eli and Umi leading their dance lessons, while the others did their best to follow along with the new dance steps. Then Maki lead the group in vocal exercises; the crimson-haired girl, in her usual flair of annoyance, ended up having to snap at Honoka, Nico, and Rin to focus more than once.

They had all just finished changing out of their practice clothes and had begun to leave the school gates when Rin made her request; just as Maki had been preparing to turn the corner to start her way home.

"Why?"

"Because!" Rin dragged it out in a whine. "We don't ever go out together as the whole group! We need to have fun too!"

"But I need to study," Maki grumbled, twisting her hair nervously as she always did upon feeling uncertain.

"As do I…" Umi admitted, choosing to ignore the half-hearted glare Honoka shot in her direction.

"You guys could go…" Maki suggested to the remaining seven members, though Honoka and Rin were having none of it.

"You just have to come!" whined Honoka loudly.

"It won't be the same!" Rin agreed, just as obnoxiously.

Despite Maki and Umi both being two-thirds of the stricter members of μ's - the other third being Eli - neither could refuse the two energetic girls. They may have been lazy and childish, but they were persistent when they wanted something. Both Umi and Maki each reluctantly agreed to spend the day with their group members, much to the others' excitement.

The girls of μ's chatted together as they made their way around town, stopping at all sorts of shops along the way. Honoka and Nico refused to pass the arcade without playing for an hour at the very least, much to the frustration of Maki and Umi - neither of them were good at video games.

Maki's face was red with anger and shame as the plush fell from the claw for the third time in a row. She huffed and turned from it, upset, as she fumed silently.

The machine held tons of plushes that she couldn't achieve. It's paint was beginning to chip away and the cold metal showed faint signs of rust. One plush stood out against the others and she wanted nothing more in that moment than to take the large leopard home.

"Here," a voice said suddenly, next to her. "I'll win it for you."

Maki looked down and saw Nico slipping money into the machine and starting the game up, tacky neon lights blinking animatedly.

"Wha-what are you t-talking about?" she stuttered, embarrassed. Maki figured none of her friends had been around to see her failures as she had assumed they would all be busy with their mini DDR tournament she decided to walk away from.

"I saw you trying to win the leopard," her upperclassman stated, pointing to the larger plush that she had dropped repeatedly. "So I'm going to get it for you."

"I-it's not like I really want it or anything!" the taller girl sputtered defensively, her cheeks flushing a pretty pink.

"Sure. I'm still getting it for you," Nico replied nonchalantly, a small smile on her face. She's too cute for her own good, she thought to herself, skilled hands working at the buttons of the machine. She was used to getting the prizes from these things for her siblings.

Sure enough, the large leopard dropped in the prize claim and Nico watched as Maki looked over with wide, glowing eyes. Nico placed the stuffed animal in her arms and saw as her awestruck expression shifted to something warm and enchanting. The redhead was smiling bright and wide, nuzzling the plush to her chest.

"Thank you, Nico-chan!"

"A-ah…" the older girl could hardly think straight, drinking in the sight before her. "N-no problem…"

They walked over to the others together just as Rin and Nozomi were wrapping up their match. Rin was obviously winning and Nozomi was definitely out of breath, but she still smiled and laughed along with the rest of the school idols.

"There they are," Eli said, noticing Maki and Nico. "We're about to… leave?" She seemed to have noticed Maki's new plush as well, as she smiled and glanced at Nico knowingly. Maki's expression was still warm and light-hearted. The other members of μ's looked over at Eli's words and all of them couldn't help but admire the rare scene of Maki's warmth. They were all so used to the girl being shut off and cold. Nico couldn't help but feel a bit of pride, knowing that she was the one who had brought this side of Maki out this time around. "I see you have a new friend, Maki."

"Mmhmm…" Maki said, hugging the cat closer to her. "Nico-chan won him for me."

Nico hadn't been expecting the praise - well that was as close to praising anyone as Maki usually got. She couldn't help the blush from gracing her features. "O-of course! Super Idol Nico-nii is amazing after all!"

Maki actually nodded, surprising everyone. "You're really good at the claw machine. I never really got to do this kind of stuff as a kid…"

"Maki-chan…" Honoka couldn't help but express sympathy. Maki was very wealthy, so she didn't have a horrible childhood in the slightest. However, the girl was not exposed to many things regular children knew and grew up with. She was an exceptionally sheltered child and was probably never allowed into places such as the arcade.

"C-can we do something like this again?" Maki requested softly, burying her face in the plush's fur.

"Of course!" Eli reassured her.

"Duh, we're friends aren't we?" Nico snipped playfully, "We're going to do tons of stuff like this. Next time I'll win you a panda!"

"A panda?"

"Yeah! Your leopard's gonna need a pal, isn't he?"

Maki blushed. "Yeah… Toru will definitely want company while I'm at school."

"Toru…?" Rin questioned, "The leopard?"

"I like it!" Kotori cooed from Maki's side.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

They all walked back to the train station together. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, casting rays of orange and red light across the sky. The air grew crisp and chilled as the day shifted quickly to evening. The girls chatted happily, making the most of the time they had before having to part with everyone for the day.

The group was crossing the street until Maki accidentally dropped Toru onto the pavement. Crying out, she went over to get him. The others noticed and stopped on the other side of the road to wait for her, wondering how she had managed to drop the plush so far away. Nozomi heard the faint sound of an engine, and suddenly felt a strange sensation of dread creep into her psyche.

"Maki-chan."

"Nozomi?" Eli questioned her friend's serious tone.

The spiritual girl's eyes widened as she saw headlights rapidly turning the corner of the street, faster than the oldest member of μ's could register.

Maki spun around and froze like a deer in headlights. The other μ's members could only watch, horrified as blood splattered on the ground and several sickening cracks rang out. The car kept going without any sort of hesitancy.

Eli was already calling the hospital, hyperventilating and finding it very difficult to breathe, as Honoka and the others raced to their friend.

It was unnerving and surreal to everyone. Maki was such a strong person; beautiful, graceful, flawless. To see such a person bloodied and completely broken in the middle of the street destroyed them all.

"MAKI!"

When the ambulance took her away, they all phoned their families, telling them there was an accident and they couldn't go home until later. The hospital μ's arrived in was, incidentally, the hospital that Maki's own family owned. Her mother and father, upon seeing their daughter, dropped what they were doing and immediately had Maki rushed into a room.

Maki's mother had the rest of the girls wait in a private room to wait for news of their friend. The hospital was so white and sterile, it nearly made Nico's mind blur over. Everything seemed hazy and dreamlike; nothing seemed real. After what felt like a few hours, Maki's father exited the surgical room. The girls all jumped up, looking expectantly at their friend's father.

"H-how does it look...?" Honoka asked fearfully.

"She... her recovery is going to take quite some time. She won't be attending classes for at least a month. There are too many fractures in her hips, legs, and ribs... too much blood loss..."

"Y-you'll send us word when she recovers, won't you?" Hanayo nearly begged. Her voice quivered and her cheeks were stained from tears she had shed while waiting for the news. Rin wiped her eyes gently, though her own eyes shone with unshed tears.

The man sighed. "I'll make sure you find out when it happens. You girls should get home and get some rest for now. There is a car out front ready to take each of you home. Goodnight, ladies…" he trailed off, exhaustion creeping into his voice.

They left the hospital with heavy hearts.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Nico glared at the vacant seat next to her. Maki usually sat there during their meetings, but now only eight out of nine chairs were occupied. The only thing they had heard from Maki's father was that she had woken up a week ago, and the small third year could hardly stand it.

She had just tuned in to the others' conversation as Honoka was saying, "…visit her today."

"What's going on?" Nico asked.

"Honoka was just saying that we should visit Maki-chan today," Nozomi reiterated kindly, knowing her friend was stressed from the first-year's absence. "We haven't heard anything from her, so we're kind of worried."

"Mmhmm," Hanayo agreed. "Normally, Maki-chan would have at least mailed me by now, just to let us know she's alright… It may not seem like it, but she really does care!" she added somewhat defensively, making the others chuckle.

"We know," Eli reassured her. "Maki may not be the most open person, but we understand her feelings even without her telling us."

"She's so obvious!" Honoka chimed in.

Nico nodded and stood up, grabbing her schoolbag. "Well then, I'd say a visit is long overdue. Let's go."

"Aren't you going to grab Toru?" Umi reminded her.

"Oh yeah," Nico walked over to one of the shelves and grabbed the first-year's leopard.

It had gotten caught up in the accident, and had unfortunately been torn and ripped. Nico would not allow it to lie there in the streets, so she and Rin made sure to grab the plush. Nico, Rin, and Honoka had been devastated at its destroyed state.

"I'll sew it," Nico had sworn. "I'll patch it up for her."

"She really was happy when you got him for her, nya…" Rin told her. "Maki-chan never smiles like that for no reason…"

"We'll help you, Nico-chan," Honoka

"Thanks."

Smiling at the memory, Nico quickly joined the others outside the clubroom. They made their way to the hospital, an anxious air settling around them.

The woman working at the reception desk seemed to recognize them as Maki's friends and told them she was in Room 233. Outside of the room were two men; Nico recognized one of them as Maki's father.

He turned upon their arrival and his stern expression changed to something almost pitying. None of them took this as a good sign.

"It's nice to see that you girls came to visit."

"Get to the point," Nico snapped.

Eli glanced at her apprehensively. "Nico…"

"No! We haven't heard anything for an entire week. I'm sick of waiting! Tell us what's wrong."

Maki's father gave her a pointed look before resigning. "There are a few things we are concerned about. One would be her vocal cords."

"Her… vocal cords?"

"Yes. You see, girls, an extreme physical trauma, such as this, can cause forms of paralysis in the vocal cords."

A chill swept over the gathered group.

"Y-you mean…" Hanayo dared to stutter, so softly they had to strain their ears to hear, "Maki-chan will never sing again?"

Nico felt the hair on her arms raise. No way.

"Well, for the time being, no. She won't be able to sing, or talk very much for that matter. At least, not for a while. However, with time and treatments, she'll recover soon enough. She can still speak; but please keep in mind she shouldn't overuse her voice for long periods of time. Her speech is very shallow and her breathing will be disrupted if she speaks too much at a time."

"Other than that," Nozomi gently chimed in, her features relaxed, obviously relieved, "how is her condition?"

At this, the man faltered. "Well… I'm not very sure how to break this to you gently…We have yet to run the proper scans and such, but we are quite positive that she is experiencing amnesia. Some form of memory loss, if not that."

"Memory… loss…?" The members of μ's shared a disbelieving look before turning back to him. "That stuff only happens in movies, doesn't it?" Honoka asked, genuinely confused. "I mean, there's no way she could just suddenly forget everything, right?"

"No. It's quite real." The look of pain that so violently rose in the wise face of Mr. Nishikino was enough to let them know. The man must have been grieving, his only child being put through such trials, likely not remembering or registering the man as her father. "All we can do is help with treatment. Though I'm sure you girls visiting will help tremendously with her memory," he added, allowing a genuine smile to show. Maki was very like her father in that their smiles were rare, but they were something to see. "Go on. You may visit her. Though, I do believe all eight of you at once would be somewhat difficult for her to handle. I advise to you enter in smaller groups."

With that, Mr. Nishikino joined a small group of passing by doctors, leaving them to stand outside of Maki's room.

They all decided to sit in the small, uninhabited, and somewhat unnervingly clean waiting lobby fixed directly across from it.

"What should we do?" Kotori asked calmly in attempt to break through the fragile, cloudy atmosphere. "I mean, who should go first, I guess."

Nico could hardly stand any of it. The lights were too bright. The walls were too white. God, everything was too white. The looming silence of the rest of the hospital felt like it could suffocate her. She was hardly able to register the quiet discussion occurring between her friends. It was all too much.

Before she knew what was going on, Nozomi and the first years got up to go to the room. They all looked wary and it was clear they didn't know what to expect. Despite her obvious discomfort and the fragility that played across her features, Nozomi still wore her usual gentle smile.

"Umi, Kotori, and I are going in next," Eli explained softly to her as she watched the other three girls go. "You and Honoka are going last. Nozomi would have gone with you two, since you three are closest to Maki, after Rin and Hanayo, but you were kind of spacing out there. That and Nozomi needed to be able to keep the other two in check. I'll do the same with Umi and Kotori; though I'm sure there's no need. I need you to make sure Honoka doesn't get too worked up, alright?"

"Heh, I think I'm going to have a hard enough time keeping myself in line, to be honest, Eli." Nico was surprised with her own sincerity. She was shaking. She could hardly handle being there, knowing Maki was hurting like that.

A few minutes passed by before Nozomi, Hanayo, and Rin left the room, all three of them looking solemn. "She really doesn't remember us, nya…"

Those words were enough to break Nico's heart. Not to mention the unshed tears in their eyes. They had worked so hard to get Maki to open up, and now Nico wasn't sure she'd ever even get to see the Scarlet Princess' smile again.

Eli, Umi, and Kotori stood up and made their way to the door. Eli shot Nico a reassuring smile over her shoulder, though Nico was sure the blonde was trying to reassure herself more than anything.

"How was it?" the raven-haired girl turned to her friend, challenging crimson meeting sage-like turquoise. "More importantly, how is she?"

"It was hard," came the cautious reply. "Rin could hardly keep herself together. Hanayo seemed deeply bothered as well. I can't say I'm much better off. However, none of that is important really. Maki, compared to us, is experiencing an entire other world of pain and confusion. We need to be here for her, even if she has no idea who we are or why we're here in the first place."

Nico wasn't even sure what kind of answer she had been expecting. "That bad, huh?"

A small nod.

"At least her physical condition is stable and non-critical, right?"

"Yes. Physically, save for her vocal cords, she'll be alright. She's still badly sprained and several of her bones are broken. Poor thing…"

Eli and the others came out of the room much differently than the other three had. They looked determined. "We think we should start showing her videos of our lives and showing her our songs and such," Eli explained briefly. "We can all discuss this at a later point, but we really want to try and help Maki's memories recover."

Before she knew it, Nico and Honoka were standing in front of the closed door of room 233, the room's inhabitant staring at them expectantly. Though, to Nico, it felt more as though she were scanning them.

"Hiya, Maki-chan!" Honoka had apparently decided to flounce her way through this, most likely pushing down any blue feelings about this as to not have Maki worry.

Lavender eyes stared back.

"You don't remember any of us, right?" Nico said calmly, taking a chair and sitting next to the redhead who shook her head no before slightly scrunching her brow in confusion.

"Everything okay?" Honoka asked hurriedly, afraid it was a medical problem.

Maki pointed at Honoka, a look of concentration plastered on her face.

"What?" Nico asked dryly. "Do you remember her or something?"

Nico felt a pang of jealousy as her head nodded up and down. She remembered Honoka and not her? Though, out of all of μ's, it made the most sense for her to remember their leader; she was the one who first met her and got her out of her shell, after all.

"Y-you do!?" Honoka's eyes brightened.

Another nod.

"W-what do you remember me from?"

"Honoka," Nico cut in sharply. "She can't speak much, remember? Just yes or no questions for now"

Maki smiled apologetically and nodded again. She then turned to Nico and raised an eyebrow to alert her she was ready for her to speak. "I… I'm Yazawa Nico…"

Nico felt her hands clasp Toru and remembered why she brought him. She stood and placed the plush in Maki's arms.

"Toru?" a very raspy, breathy voice managed.

"W-w-what?" Nico stuttered un-intelligently. Honoka's eyes widened behind her, not believing what was happening.

Maki raised her eyes, a startling amethyst, to meet Nico's eyes of ruby. Her eyes seemed to be saying, "I remember." She looked from Toru to Nico, showing the older girls she was making some sort of connection between the two. "This happened before the accident, right?" Her voice was so frail and quiet, Nico and Honoka had to strain their ears to comprehend her.

"Y-yes," Nico choked out, sobs wracking her body. Her eyes stung as she held back tears. "You were trying to win him and you couldn't so I did."

Maki offered an apologetic look. Nico could hardly believe the girl was hardly able to talk; her emotions were conveying more than they ever had before. "I've never really been good with those sort of things…" her eyes basically spoke for her. "Thank you. I remembered being very happy," she rasped warmly.

Nico couldn't stand it. She threw herself on Maki's bed and let loose all the emotion she'd pent up since Maki's accident. She didn't even register the sound of the door opening and closing, Honoka having left the two to their privacy.

A soft hand ran through Nico's hair, managing to soothe her pain. Long fingers traced over her scalp, lulling her into a calm quiet as the last of her sobs left her. "I'm sorry," a voice whispered softly.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys, sorry for not updating for a while. Trust me, I've been working on a lot of stuff, so that's why I haven't updated until now.

I've also been contemplating whether or not I should pick up some of my old unfinished FanFics/series for you guys that may follow them but I'm not sure. I'd love opinions about this. I'd definitely have to go back through and edit through all of them and repost them probably. I wouldn't bother with the Warriors ones, but I'm contemplating the Pokemon ones. I dropped all of those since I started them all in middle school – about seventh grade – and now I'm a senior in high school. I'd want to rewrite them if I picked them back up at all.

So please tell me what you guys think about that. Other than that, please enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter 3

The following weeks were very difficult for her. Maki could only remember a few things about the group of people who visited her every day. She remembered the Honoka girl applauding her piano playing and she remembered the Nico girl winning Toru for her. She couldn't wrap her mind around their discomfort at her friendliness though. They all said they were friends, so was it really that strange that she greet them with smiles and warm conversation?

"You never… really talked so much," the tall blonde girl, Eli, had explained to her on one of her visits. "They're probably just surprised with how open you've been."

Her throat had been recovering at a smooth pace, much to everyone's delight. Although she was grateful for the care of the hospital, she ached to sing. She just counted her blessings that none of her fingers had been badly injured. She longed to play the piano and perform. She couldn't help but look forward to the stories the eight girls would bring her of their group. She loved hearing about μ's and what they had all accomplished together.

Maki's excitement was through the roof when she was able to leave her hospital room. It had taken some time for her bones to heal, and she was very excited to be able to move around again. While she appreciated her father and the hospital staff for taking care of her, she remembered being very independent and wanted to be able to do things for herself. Nico had been there for when Maki took her first steps after several months.

"Careful now," the older girl cautioned. "You don't want to fall and break them all over again, do you?"

Maki could hardly contain her excitement. She wobbled violently with each step, swaying dangerously from side to side. Nico let her use her shoulders for balance and support and a large smile spread across her face.

"Nico, I'm walking!"

Nico beamed at her; she just couldn't help it. Not only was she genuinely pleased that Maki was recovering wonderfully, but the younger girl's giddiness was contagious.

"Soon enough, you'll be running again with the rest of us."

Maki's eyes got wide and they seemed to fill with stars. "Running!"

"Whoa there tiger, not now. You still need to get used to walking again."

Maki was so happy that she had friends. She never had really had them before, she recalled from her earlier memories she retained, so she was very thrilled to know she had made some. They were all so kind and understanding towards her, and none of them seemed to care she was an heiress; they really just liked her. She was also very happy when she found out that they all did music together. She would beg the others to sing for her, but they weren't allowed, due to it being inside a hospital.

"Please!" Maki asked sweetly, trying to persuade Eli and Nico.

"We can't, Maki," Eli said patiently for the fifth time that day.

Nico clicked her tongue in annoyance. "The staff won't let us. We'd be disturbing the other patients."

This would cause Maki to pout and sulk for the rest of the visit. That was, until Nico and Honoka brought a laptop one day. The videos they showed her were amazing.

"Is… is that me?" she asked, pointing to the screen. The song they were singing was so pretty, and something clicked in her mind with familiarity. She'd heard that song before.

"Yup, that's you alright," Honoka grinned. "You have no idea how hard it was to even get you to compose the song for us in the first place."

Maki looked confused. "I didn't want to? But I love music."

"Yeah, but you were just kind of against the whole pop music thing."

"I do like classical music…" she relented calmly.

Nico looked her over. "Yeah, well you're definitely being more open than you were before the accident. You were really stubborn and never knew how to express yourself properly."

"Look who's talking," Honoka remarked, scowling slightly.

Now Maki sat in the Idol Research club room, waiting for the others to show up. She was somewhat annoyed with all the clutter, but she was more so impressed at exactly how much idol merchandise there was. It covered the walls, lined all the shelves, and even rested in the piles of boxes upon boxes that inhabited the corners of the room.

She flinched slightly as the door's handle clicked and it swung open, revealing the third years. They were each very surprised to say the least.

"M-Maki-chan?" Nico stuttered, looking shell-shocked.

"Yes?" She wasn't used to so many people being surprised by her every action. Her classmates had even been very surprised with her saying that they were used to the "cold shoulder" rather than her shyly ducking behind Rin when she didn't know how to handle something.

"You're here… rather early," Eli continued as she hesitantly entered the room. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything's fine. Honoka told me there was a meeting and I came after class."

Nozomi, unlike the other two, was already seated, having had waltzed in like this was normal. "You see, you usually would be the fourth or last person to show up to our meetings."

"Why?"

"Well I wouldn't know the real reason but you always told us you were 'busy' or 'were in no rush to come'," she explained warmly and slowly, as if she were talking to her young daughter.

Maki's face scrunched oddly. "Doesn't that sound a bit rude?"

Nico snorted. "Yeah? You could be pretty rude."

Nozomi shot the shorter girl a glare. "Nicocchi. You have no room to talk. Besides, we all knew it was a defense mechanism she set up for herself, so don't be insensitive."

Eli let out a huff of apprehensive air as she glanced at Nico's expression. As she expected, her fellow third year looked like she got slapped.

"Oh please don't fight…" Maki said, trembling slightly. She always knew there was something commanding about Nozomi, but she didn't realize how fearsome she could be.

By this time the others had begun arriving and taking their seats.

"Maki," Umi greeted.

"Hey Umi," the redhead's answer was immediate, clear, and friendly. Something Umi was not used to coming from her.

"A-ah, well, I was j-just wondering h-how your voice is recovering?"

"Oh, Papa said I'm recovering very quickly! He said I may even be able to sing if I keep up my medicine and throat exercises!" She could hardly contain herself, she was so excited. Then she remembered, "Oh but my other injuries are supposed to take more time to heal, so I can't really do much dancing…"

Umi smiled at her. "No worries. I'm simply happy you are recovering at such a steady pace. Honestly I'm very glad you are even able to be at school again, attending our meetings. Speaking of which, I should get these girls situated…"

They looked over and saw Rin, Honoka, and Nico all standing on the table, head banging rather aggressively to After School Navigators. Eli was trying to get them all to calm down while Kotori and Hanayo simply looked worried. Nozomi sat there quietly, her usual knowing smile on her face.

"Knock it off you three!" she called and stalked towards them.

A few weeks later and Maki's throat was ready for singing. Well, that information was currently solely known by her father and herself. She had tested out one of her old vocal practices and her voice sounded cracked and raw. That was to be expected, seeing that she hadn't been able to use it for several months.

She started immediately on her old singing routines, playing the piano and re-teaching her body the basics. She would have to repeat the process, again, whenever her father decided she was capable of dancing again, as well.

It took her less time than she expected to get back to her previous expertise. Her voice had only been "placed on a shelf" for a while and needed some "dusting", as she liked to think about the situation.

She speed walked - she would have ran if it weren't for her remaining injuries - towards the clubroom to share the good news with the others. She threw the door open, catching many of the girls inside off-guard.

"M-Maki!?"

Umi looked at her, eyes bulging slightly. "I would have thought that were Rin or Honoka if they weren't both already here!"

Both aforementioned gingers huffed indignantly, but silently agreed Maki's entrance was out of character. Though, she had been out of character for the majority of this ordeal.

"I can sing again!"

Everyone dropped what they were doing and all attention was on her in an instant. Surprised expressions sparked to life, shining radiantly with glee.

"No way!"

"You're kidding!"

"That's wonderful!"

Umi looked hesitant but asked, "Do you think you'd be ready to work with me on the new song? I know you just healed, and it is regrettable that I should have to place any sort of burden on you, but we are already running out of time for-"

"Love Live," Maki interrupted instantly.

"Huh?"

Even the first year looked confused. "I don't know where that came from… but there's this important thing called Love Live, right?"

"Yes."

"And we're running out of time…" she said, almost guiltily.

"Oh!" Umi caught her tone immediately. "It is in no way your fault we're behind, Maki. I already have some of the steps worked out and Kotori has the outfits already together. You and I just need to fix the music and-"

"... And wait for my leg to heal…"

"Well yes… there is still that."

Nico scowled. "And we have to get her back in shape."

"I've been walking!" Maki huffed, a deep red blush burning her face.

"Unfortunately, that's not enough…"

"Eli," Nozomi spoke. "Maki is a very capable girl. We'll make it on time." She turned her wise gaze to Maki. "Besides, we're all here to help her. She won't be left behind."

Maki felt tears prick her eyes. Nozomi stood and brought her into her arms. The others all were very touched at the scene in front of them. That is, until Rin decided;

"GROUP HUG!"

Honoka and Rin leapt up and threw themselves at the other two girls, nearly knocking them off balance. Kotori and Hanayo made their way over and claimed their spots, Eli dragging Umi to join in. Nico walked up and claimed her place.

"It's too hot," came Maki's abrupt complaint. "Get off."

Everyone sprang back, looking at her like they weren't sure if she would be there the second they looked away.

"Oh gosh I'm sorry, that was rude… I don't know what came over me."

"Maki's back!" Honoka cheered. "You're usually like that!"

"What? But that was so ungrateful of me!"

"Nah," Nico corrected her, "you always hid your feelings that way. Or expressed yourself better that way."

After a moment of thinking, Maki said, "Well it did feel good, I guess."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Hey, Nico-chan, hurry up!" Maki called impatiently as Nico dragged her feet up the stairs.

"You just got back into this," Nico was whining, "how are you already so much better than I am?"

"Because I'm quicker than you," she responded hotly, sticking out her tongue.

The corner of Nico's mouth twitched. "You need to stop hanging out with Honoka and Rin as much. They're a bad influence on you."

"You're just jealous that I'm faster now!"

Nico scowled at the childish tendencies. "No, I'm upset you sound like a snobby seven year old. Stop spending so much time with Honoka. Hang out with Umi and Eli for a change."

"I hang out with them all the time!" she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the shorter third year.

"Okay, okay," Nico relented, not wanting to deal with the girl's newly found short temper. She was regaining her qualities and memories piece by piece; she was in her challenging phase.

The rooftop came into view and Nico noticed several of their friends already gathered out in front. Nozomi stood with Eli, Umi and Honoka.

"Oh!" Honoka had spotted them. "Nico-chan and Maki-chan!"

Maki's face lit up. "Hi, Honoka!"

Nico's scowl worsened. "Why don't you say hi to me like that?"

The response was immediate; "Because Nico-chan is a sour-puss."

"Geh!?"

"Maki," Umi walked up to the girl, "do you think you're ready to start practicing again?"

"Yes!" Maki squealed, hardly bothering to contain her glee. She'd been wanting to dance and sing and get back into the groove of things ever since she'd started regaining her memories.

"She's been doing very well with her strength training," Eli reminded them, "so I think she's ready to start practicing our dance moves again. I think we should stick to our older songs for now. Learning all new songs would be a bit difficult for her right now."

"Well," Maki looked sheepish, "technically, all of them are 'new songs' to me at this point…" she trailed off, a forlorn expression etched on her face. "B-but! I promise I'll try and get better soon!"

The others arrived shortly after, commencing their practice. Maki was surprisingly able to keep up with them the entire routine, only tripping up every once in a while.

"I remember this song; at least, my body seems to remember it."

They carried on this way until Maki's body couldn't handle it any longer. She'd been training and exercising herself, but she just did not have the energy or stamina she had before the accident.

This carried on for several weeks as Maki regained her strength. Love Live was approaching rapidly, and everyone was feeling quite nervous; Maki especially. They had apparently been unable to join their first Love Live, and this was the last time they would be able to join with all the members together. Maki didn't want to ruin this for them all.

As the weeks went by, she remembered more and more. She remembered meeting Hanayo and Rin, Nozomi pushing her at their training trip, everyone deciding to go home together that day… She remembered more with each passing day.

Love Live was approaching, and she needed to be able to do her best. Her body improved along with her memory, slightly recovering each day. Suddenly, one day, a random memory sparked in her mind.

"Next time I'll win you a panda!"

"A panda?" she murmured, picking up her bag and making her way to the nearest arcade.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Maki, what did you call me here for?" Nico asked as she saw the girl approach her. They were at their typical meeting place in the park; Nico had been pretty surprised when the younger girl called her there.

"We made a promise."

Nico gave her a quizzical look. "I promised you a lot of things; which one are you talking about, in particular?"

Lavender eyes twinkled in raw glee and cherry lips smirked smugly. She took something out of her bag and Nico narrowed her eyes in confusion. A panda bear?

"You said Toru needed a friend; so I got you this."

It all hit her. Maki wanted to go to more arcades and amusement parks. She wanted to play the claw machine and DDR machines with her and the others. Nico wanted to win more plushes for the girl who was always seemingly uninterested in anything and everything.

"You… but I was supposed to win it for you."

Maki shrugged. "Maybe so, but either way, I like this better. If you have Alice and I have Toru, we'll always have to be together so they can see each other!"

Nico blushed brightly. "Alice?"

Maki's gleeful expression grew bashful. "Do you not like it?"

"No… I love it," she smiled and took the panda into her arms. "I guess you're right. Alice and I just can't leave you two alone, now can we?"

Maki grinned and touched her forehead to Nico's.

"Nope!"

Hey guys so I know I've been dragging this one on for an eternity and I really should have ended it a while ago. I know the ending was pretty abrupt but I at least wanted to finish it before I completely lost interest in it. I hope to start on some new fanfics and start publishing them here and on tumblr as well. Thank you all for reading! Don't forget to watch me and to leave a review! I really appreciate it. Thanks everyone!


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